With star quarterback Kellen Lewis still indefinitely suspended, a question mark remains at the position for the Hoosiers. Luckily, Coach Bill Lynch and the IU coaching staff have several viable options that should be set to compete for the starting job in the near future. Freshman-to-be Adam Follett, who committed last August, hopes to be part of that group.
During the recruiting process, he was greatly impressed by the coaching staff, facilities, and potential for the program, and chose Indiana over several in-state options, including Central Michigan and Michigan State.
Follett is rated as a two-star prospect by Rivals.com, but he has the potential to be much more than that. He has close to ideal size for his position at around 6’5”, 200 lbs, and is still very raw.
Much of that rawness can be attributed to an interesting high school career, during which he played three years at Caledonia High School (MI) before transferring to Alma High School for his senior year. Follett transferred to get reps in Alma’s pass-heavy spread offense, which was almost a polar opposite of Caledonia’s wish-bone offense, relying on the running game.
Follett credits the change for making him a more versatile player and a better quarterback overall. “Going to a passing school really helped my passing, obviously,” he said about the transfer. “But still, coming from a running school, I was able to know how to make reads and how to pull it and everything coming from the wish-bone offense. It kept me being able to run the ball better as well.”
Follett probably couldn’t have chosen a better place to go than Alma. He led the team to an 11-1 record before falling in the regional finals, and amassed almost 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air with over a 55% completion percentage.
Despite his monster year at Alma and his obvious physical talents (he noted field vision, arm strength, and footwork as some of his strengths), Follett is still considered relatively inexperienced as a college quarterback prospect. “When asked about what he wants to improve upon for college, he responded, “pretty much everything, it’s a step up from high school, you just need to be better at everything.”
Regardless, his success in the spread offense at Alma is a great indicator for IU, which runs a similar offense, and many scouts agree that he has an extremely high ceiling. Some have said that he could be the best quarterback prospect in Michigan for this year when it’s all said and done.
Follett has taken the rave reviews modestly, saying “There’s a lot of good players coming from Michigan, but it’s an honor to be among all them, and I’ll just try to live up to all the hype, I guess.”
This summer Follett plans to get to work immediately to try and live up to these expectations. “I’m just focusing on everything, trying to make every little bit of my game better,” he said about this summer. “I’m going down there June 9, and I’m going to start working with the team, weight training and all that stuff.”
With so much up in the air, Follett knows that he has a huge opportunity before him, and he believes that with hard work, he could be the guy for the Hoosiers even if he is thrust into a starting position sooner than expected. “I just had it in my mind that I could play at that level,” he said about stepping up to the plate for IU. “It’s definitely coming on faster than I thought it would, but it’s really no change to me.”
Follett definitely has his work cut out for him. If Kellen Lewis does return, IU would have capable options in Lewis, Ben Chappell, Teddy Schell, Mitchell Evans, and Follett all jockeying for the top spot. While it’s unlikely that Follett will break into the rotation next year, he definitely has the potential to make his presence known in 2009 and farther down the road.
Until then, he just wants to take it one step at a time. “I’m just gonna come in and work as hard as I can, and try to earn a spot on the team. But it’s not going to be easy,” he said. All of this competition is going to be a great thing for the Hoosiers. The harder it is for the starting quarterback to earn his job, the better off IU is going to be in the long run.
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